To promote the use of English through Acquisition and Learning:

Self-directedness through self-directed learning

by G. H. Asoka

At various stages of their lives, people use different ways of learning reflecting various learning strategies they prefer according to their various learning styles. Human beings do not always need a teacher and do not need to be overdependent on teachers despite the fact that role of the teacher in any society is indispensable, inevitable and invaluable: human beings informally learn a lot in their physical and social environments to enrich their knowledge and experience tacitly. As human beings are essentially social, they are competent in their informal learning which is then used as a strong foundation for formal learning.

In their own attempts of learning, at formal or informal level, human beings themselves plan, implement and evaluate their learning. This sort of learning initiated by the learner with his/her own responsibility is generally called, in education, self-directed learning.

A person, as a learner, can be self-directed in different ways at any stage of his/her development in education and life. Initially self-directed learning had been identified and recommended for encouraging preferably adult learns.

Yet it has been revealed through research that self-directed learning can be made common even for the young by introducing its various techniques selectively for them depending on their age-appropriate and grade-appropriate individual capacities.

Use of self-directed learning is quite obvious in bilingual education both as a process and product. The Islandwide Needs Survey conducted in 2007 in Sri Lanka on bilingual education has unexpectedly noticed how successful bilingual learners have become self-directed and how they have maintained their self-directedness in their studies in bilingual education irrespective of the fact that they, their parents and teachers have faced a lot of challenges. This is one among many secrets behind success of bilingual learners in the country mostly over their peers in monolingual education.

Bilingual Education in Sri Lanka

Bilingual education was introduced to the Sri Lanka system of education in its recent history in 2001 commencing it from GCE (A/L) classes, and then since 2002, the opportunity has been expanded introducing it to the classes from Grade 6 onwards. By the end of 2009, Ministry of Education has been able to implement bilingual education in 601 schools and targets to increase that number upto 800 and 1000 by the end of 2010 and 2011 respectively.

The bilingual education programme currently implemented in Sri Lanka allows learners from their Grade 6 onwards to learn a set of subject (recommendation through the circular 2008/12) in learners' L2 (English) and the rest in one of the national languages (either in Sinhala or Tamil). The subjects which read primodal social institutions are read only in national languages. In government schools, primary education is available compulsorily in national languages. Thus two languages are used as media of instruction parallel and consecutively in bilingual learners' education. This situation has provided learners to be multilingual and multiliterate or minimum bilingual or biliterate.

According to the Three Year Master Plan collaboratively developed on bilingual education by the Ministry of Education, the vision of the programme in Sri Lanka is 'widening horizons through language diversity to explore the world' with the mission, 'empowering future generations to be multilingual (minimum bilingual) using English as a tool representing Sri Lankan identity'.

The objectives of the programme are five in number:

1. 'To develop social harmony and social cohesion in a pluralistic society using English as a link language both locally and globally.

2. To provide opportunity to all students at secondary level, irrespective of socio-economic and regional disparities,

3. To acquire proficiency of both first language and English as a second language without jettisoning Sinhala and Tamil as national and official languages,

4. To enable students to use local languages and English as a second source and a means to reach knowledge society through information literacy' and

5. 'To link academic aspects with socio-economic political and cultural aspects of the world of work through national languages and the link language at local and global levels'.

This programme of bilingual education, since its inception, has generally been called 'English Medium education' though it was indeed bilingual education. This misuse of words has done a great damage when the subject is discussed in terms of education aspects irrespective of appropriacy and timely need of bilingual education as bilingual education: thus the majority of the research so far conducted under this discipline has been run under the wrong term. 'English medium education'. and therefore the literature, suggestions and recommendations presented and described in line with the wrong term are mostly irrelevant and misleading.

'English medium education' is another type of monolingual education which allows learners to study completely in English from their beginning of studies. This sort of education does not benefit the country and its future: it also seriously damages Sri Lanka identity, culture and their existence by devalorizing Sinhala and Tamil, and ultimately leading to loss of our local languages and national integration and national integrity.

At the same time, such type of education negatively influences learners' cognition and knowledge displaying its negative outcomes in terms of creativity, critical thinking and flexibility of mental capacity (meta cognitive skills).

Nevertheless, the bilingual education programme implemented in the Sri Lankan school system is expected to achieve balanced bilingualism and biliteracy in their additive aspects. Thus use of English as a tool is emphasized to reach developmental goals mingling local aspects with international aspects and its community.

What is self-directed learning?------

Self-directed learning has existed even in classical antiquity. It has played an important role in the lives of great personalities such as the Lord Buddha, Jesus Christ, scientists, philosophers and so on explicitly exhibiting their achievements in learning and charismatic nature in changing society. They are actually products of self-directed learning in their way of life.

Since the year-1960, self-directed learning has become a major research area in education for producing goal-oriented learners who can extend their learning beyond the formal system. Self-directed learners can meet many challenges associated with keeping up-to-date on constantly changing knowledge.

As a means for expanding educational opportunities for a large number of students in the presence of scarce educational funds, self-directed learning is a worthwhile solution. Charles Hayes says that people should take control of their own learning and adopt self-directed enquiry as a lifelong priority. "When we fail to control of our education, we fail to take control of our lives. Self-directed inquiry, the process of taking control of our own education... is the lifeblood of democracy, [too].' (1998:xiv)

Malcom Knowles, in 1975, defined self-directed learning as a 'process in which individuals take initiative within or without help of others to diagnoze their learning needs, formulate learning goals, identify resources for learning, select and implement learning strategies an devaluate learning outcomes.' importance of learner responsibility is read across this definition.

That is the motive by which the successful bilingual learner is initiated to seek waysand means of learning and learning to learn. In defining self-directed learning, we can find several tenets which have been taken into consideration.

1. Self-directed learning views learners as responsible owners and managers of their learning process: it integrates management of context including the social setting, resources and actions (self-management) and the process: thereby learners monitor, evaluate and regulate their cognitive processing strategies (self-monitoring).

2. Self-directed learning emphasizes the important role of motivation (encouragement) and volition in mediating and maintaining learner's efforts: encouragement ensures participation and volition, maintains interest and need for ending a certain learning task or activity to reach the goals set.

3. In self-directed learning, control of learning is more or less with learners: so it shifts from teachers to learners. Consequently learners possess a great deal of independence in their approach to learning within a framework set by the teacher.

4. Teacher makes learning 'visible' by modelling learning strategies (strategy instruction) and work with their learners so then the learners promote their ability of using learning strategies.

5. Ironically self-directed learning is highly collaborative so the learners become more interested in working with their teachers and peers than being secluded.

6. Self-directed learning develops domain specific knowledge and ability of transforming conceptual knowledge in new situations. It also bridges the gap between the knowledge gained in school and real-world problems by considering how people learn in real life.

In the attempts of defining self-directed learning, it has been done in three different perspectives:1) a process in which people take primary initiative for planning, carrying out and evaluating their own learning, 2) a personal attribute-the psychological readiness to undertake one's learning and 3) a set of attitudes, behaviours and skills for self-direction.

Knowles says that human beings grow in capacity and need to be self-directed. As self-directed learning assumes that individuals learn what is required to perform their evolving life tasks, self-directed learning influences learning for life.

The mode of learning assumed as the quite suitable under self-directed learning is task-based and problem-centred: This situation makes the learner critically think, and consequently they are intrinsically motivated rather than extrinsically to achieve targets by various internal incentives such as need for self-esteem, curiosity, desire to achieve and satisfaction of accomplishment other than additional pressure or force.

Knowles, in his arguments, introduces three immediate reasons for human beings to use self-directed learning in their lives.

1. There is convincing evidence that people who take initiative in learning (proactive learners) learn more things and learn better than those who always seek teachers' support passively (reactive learners). Such learners enter to learning more purposefully and with greater motivation than the others do. They also tend to retain and make use of what they learn better and longer than reactive learners.

2. Self-directed learning is more in tune with human natural processes of psychological development to support the learner to be increasingly self-directed.

3. Many developments in education keep a heavy responsibility on the learner to take good deal of initiative in their own learning.

Thus it is understood that the need for learning through self-directed learning is naturally with people in their social settings with their natural talent and need for it. Candy (1991) mentions four aspects for understanding characteristics of a successful self-directed learner. A personal attribute (personal autonomy), Willingness and capacity to conduct his/her own education (Self management), a mode of organizing instruction in formal settings (learner control) and individual, non-institutional pursuit of learning opportunities in the natural social setting (autodidaxy). These aspects can be considered as features of self-direction, too.

The two psychological attributes behind self-directed learning are personality and cognitive development. Self-confidence, inner-directedness and achievements-motivation are personality traits.

The six cognitive skills particularly identified in successful self-directed learning are goal setting skills, processing skills, other cognitive skills (such as sensory information, working memory, elaboration by imaging deducing, generalizing and so on), aptitude in the topic, decision making skills and skills related to promote self-awareness.Learner autonomy described by David Little (1991) as 'a capacity for detachment, critical reflection, decision making and independent action' is a possible outcome of self-directed learning.

Yet this cannot be achieved within a short period. Thanasoulas D. (2000) mentions five aspects which make a learner autonomous, and these aspects vividly support a learner to be accepted as a self-directed learner. Autonomous learners have insights into their learning styles and strategies.

They take an active approach to the learning task at hand and are willing to take risk. They always try to complete additional assignments irrespective of the need for being assessed. They place importance on accuracy as well as appropriacy. Nevertheless, the image of wholly autonomous self-directed learner is problematic and impractical especially because of cultural differences. Nolan (1990) suggests that 'there is no such thing as a purely autonomous ...... second language learner.'

However, self-direction is naturally a characteristic of every individual upto a certain degree: it does not mean learning in isolation. To some readers, it may be quite a paradox to talk about facilitation of self directed learning as the term, 'self-direction' literally implies 'learning alone'. Yet it is indeed not. Learners are expected to use teachers' support as just one of many resources.

Learners need to gain confidence to utilize learning contexts and opportunities outside the classroom with direction and guidance of the teacher, continually developing their critical thinking and confidence in forming and giving their own opinions. 'Developing these skills normally means taking risks that require learners to venture outside their comfort zone.'

Teachers are able to guide learners to use self-directed learning by gradually introducing various relevant techniques of self-directed learning. In education today, teachers can encourage their learners to be more self-directed deviating from lecture method or any other method governed by teacher centred, chalk and talk teaching style. They can support and allow learners to learn how to establish realistic goals, monitor their own learning and reflect and challenge their own attitudes. 'In short, with assistance and guidance of experienced teachers, learners need to take responsibility for their own learning and teachers must step back and encourage them to develop their skills to be able to do so.

Self-directed learner can transfer learning both knowledge and skills from one situation to another easily as experimentators. It arouses critical reflection for changing their lives.

Learners are supported to view knowledge and truth as contextual, to see value frameworks on cultural constructs and to appreciate their ability of acting in their world individually and collectively to transform their experience.

Baumgartner (2003) introduces two other goals in addition to the ability of fostering transformation through self-directed learning: opportunity for individuals to reach their full potential and promoting emancipator learning and social change.

(The writer is the Chief Project Officer & Head of the Cell of Language Coordination Project Leader of Bilingual Education Faculty of Languages, Humanities & Social Sciences National Institute of Education, Maharagama)

To be continued